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Seville

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SEVILLE Sevilla After living up to some wonderful moments at Granada, the birthplace of the renowned Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, we decided to further our coadventure through the heartland of the southern Iberian Peninsula, composed of lowlands, mountains and valleys. You’ve got it right. To arrive at Seville, we traversed the fascinating Spanish heartland. The landscape presented some vistas composed of rustic plains, lowlands, winding roads through the Sierra and then vast stretches of olive orchards. About 200 years back, a couple of decades after Napoleon’s army plundered and destroyed parts of Alhambra, an American diplomat and writer, Washington Irving and his Russian counterpart traversed the path from Seville to Granada. It was highly adventurous then, because of the fact that the transport system at that time was horse-drawn carriages and muleteers. It was such that they could ‘wander among the romantic mountains of Andalusia’ (Tales of Alhamb...
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Poems of a retired Engineer from Calcutta

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Poems penned by retired eminent Engineer Ramni Prasad

SUNSET AT MAYFAIR EMERALD


As I sit on the terrace
Of Mayfair Emerald in Kolkata,
I watch a heavenly phenomenon unfold

In the western sky.



The sun larger and red,

Seems sinking in the horizon

With an ever changing cloud pattern

A spectacle I watch in utter amazement.


The birds fly homewards,

Tired after the day’s toil,

Gather in groups,

Bidding goodbye to the restless world.


The dogs bark on the road below,

To settle some grave issues,

Then suddenly withdraw

And silence prevails again.



I go round the terrace,

On a leisurely walk.

Keep counting the mandatory rounds,

That falsely assures my fitness.



On the pavements below,

Ladies young and old,

Gather after their day’s toil,

To enjoy some mirth and merriment.



New apartment houses,

Keep coming up,

Served so far, by a single shop

The Ramakrishna Enterprises, working tirelessly.


Arpee Engineer, Nov.2012







MAN, GOD AND COSMOS



Jawa, a deeply religious woman,

Partially owns a temple.

With other members of her family,

She worships many Gods and Goddesses.



The family shares the cost and toil,

And performs pujas round the year.

The Gods and Goddesses appear pleased

And the family is happy with their blessings.



Out in the large world,

Symbols of different religions predominate.

The Cross, The Moon and Star, The Trident,

And others seem uncomfortable with each other.



Somewhere the Gods laugh at the spectacle

Of human folly and myopic vision.

Residents of a microscopic planet earth,

Fail to see God’s awesome presence in the night sky.



When Carl Sagan beckons,

Go, have a glorious view of the Cosmos,

Which has been expanding since the Big Bang?

And will return to Brahma with the Big Crunch.


Arpee Engineer

09/02/2014





 
India 68, Pratapaditya Road, Lalpara, Mudiali, Kalighat, Kolkata, West Bengal 700026, India

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